Malaysian Grand Prix 2011

7. April 2011 · by René Reinar Svendsen · in

Malaysia is the longest race distance of the season. Not the highest % full throttle over a lap, but Malaysia is the longest combined time spent at full throttle over full race distance by a margin of around 70 seconds. The longer straights at Malaysia would indicate that the benefits of the DRS are likely to be greater than they were at Melbourne. As such, seventh gear selection will be more critical.

Too short and the car will spend extended periods in the limiter, becoming a sitting target at the end of the straight. On the other hand, going too long will compromise both acceleration and end of straight speed, with similar results.

The Sepang circuit gives drivers plenty of opportunity to deploy the KERS and provides enough heavy braking zones to keep the system charged. The only difficulty will be deciding when to use it, as the drivers only have just under 7 seconds of extra boost available to them per lap.

Sepang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Race Classification
Pos Driver Team Laps Time
Race Classification
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 56 1:37:39.832
2 Jenson Button Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 56 +3.2 secs
3 Nick Heidfeld Lotus-Renault GP 56 +25.0 secs
4 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 56 +26.3 secs
5 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 56 +36.9 secs
6 Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 56 +57.2 secs
7 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber F1 Team 56 +66.4 secs
8 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 56 +69.9 secs
9 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP Petronas 56 +84.8 secs
10 Paul di Resta Force India F1 Team 56 +91.5 secs
11 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 55 + 1 Lap
12 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP Petronas 55 +1 Lap
13 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 55 +1 Lap
14 Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 55 +1 Lap
15 Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 55 +1 Lap
16 Timo Glock Marussia Virgin Racing 54 +2 Laps
17 Vitaly Petrov Lotus-Renault GP 52 Accident
Ret Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team 46 +10 Laps
Ret Jerome d’Ambrosio Marussia Virgin Racing 42 Accident
Ret Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 31 Clutch
Ret Sergio Perez Sauber F1 Team 23 Accident
Ret Rubens Barrichello Williams F1 22 Hydraulics
Ret Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team 14 +42 Laps
Ret Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 8 Engine misfire

Note: Hamilton and Alonso had 20s added to their race times after a collision. Hamilton drops from seventh to eigth, Alonso retains sixth.

Sepang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Qualifying Session Classification
Pos Driver Team Q1 Q2 Q3
Qualifying Session Classification
1 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:37.468 1:35.934 1:34.870
2 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:36.861 1:35.852 1:34.974
3 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:37.924 1:36.080 1:35.179
4 Jenson Button Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:37.033 1:35.569 1:35.200
5 Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:36.897 1:36.320 1:35.802
6 Nick Heidfeld Lotus-Renault GP 1:37.224 1:36.811 1:36.124
7 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:36.744 1:36.557 1:36.251
8 Vitaly Petrov Lotus-Renault GP 1:37.210 1:36.642 1:36.324
9 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP Petronas 1:37.316 1:36.388 1:36.809
10 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber F1 Team 1:36.994 1:36.691 1:36.820
11 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP Petronas 1:36.904 1:37.035
12 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.693 1:37.160
13 Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.677 1:37.347
14 Paul di Resta Force India F1 Team 1:38.045 1:37.370
15 Rubens Barrichello Williams F1 1:38.163 1:37.496
16 Sergio Perez Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:37.759 1:37.528
17 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:37.693 1:37.593
18 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 1:38.276
19 Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 1:38.645
20 Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 1:38.791
21 Timo Glock Marussia Virgin Racing 1:40.648
22 Jerome d’Ambrosio Marussia Virgin Racing 1:41.001
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team 1:41.549
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team 1:42.574
Sepang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Third Practice Session Classification
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
Third Practice Session Classification
1 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:36.340
2 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:36.630 0.290
3 Jenson Button Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:36.762 0.422
4 Nick Heidfeld Lotus-Renault GP 1:37.115 0.775
5 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:37.175 0.835
6 Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:37.284 0.944
7 Vitaly Petrov Lotus-Renault GP 1:37.297 0.957
8 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:37.762 1.422
9 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber F1 Team 1:38.059 1.719
10 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP Petronas 1:38.300 1.960
11 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP Petronas 1:38.307 1.967
12 Sergio Perez Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38.448 2.108
13 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:38.464 2.124
14 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 1:38.597 2.257
15 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38.665 2.325
16 Rubens Barrichello Williams F1 1:38.681 2.341
17 Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38.716 2.376
18 Paul di Resta Force India F1 Team 1:38.864 2.524
19 Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 1:39.260 2.920
20 Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 1:39.699 3.359
21 Jerome d’Ambrosio Marussia Virgin Racing 1:41.215 4.875
22 Timo Glock Marussia Virgin Racing 1:41.414 5.074
23 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team 1:43.147 6.807
24 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team 1:43.383 7.043
Sepang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Second Practice Session Classification
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
Second Practice Session Classification
1 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:36.876
2 Jenson Button Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:36.881 0.005
3 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:37.010 0.134
4 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:37.090 0.214
5 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP Petronas 1:38.088 1.212
6 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:38.089 1.213
7 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP Petronas 1:38.565 1.689
8 Nick Heidfeld Lotus-Renault GP 1:38.570 1.694
9 Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:38.583 1.707
10 Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:38.846 1.970
11 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 1:38.968 2.092
12 Rubens Barrichello Williams F1 1:39.187 2.311
13 Vitaly Petrov Lotus-Renault GP 1:39.267 2.391
14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber F1 Team 1:39.398 2.522
15 Sergio Perez Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:39.603 2.727
16 Paul di Resta Force India F1 Team 1:39.625 2.749
17 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:39.809 2.933
18 Sebastien Buemi Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:40.115 3.239
19 Timo Glock Marussia Virgin Racing 1:40.866 3.990
20 Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 1:41.890 5.014
21 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team 1:43.197 6.321
22 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team 1:43.991 7.115
23 Heikki Kovalainen Team Lotus 1:44.886 8.010
24 Jerome d’Ambrosio Marussia Virgin Racing No time
Sepang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, First Practice Session Classification
Pos Driver Team Time Gap
First Practice Session Classification
1 Mark Webber Red Bull Racing 1:37.651
2 Lewis Hamilton Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:39.316 1.665
3 Michael Schumacher Mercedes GP Petronas 1:39.791 2.140
4 Nico Hulkenberg Force India F1 Team 1:40.377 2.726
5 Pastor Maldonado Williams F1 1:40.443 2.792
6 Felipe Massa Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:40.453 2.802
7 Nick Heidfeld Lotus-Renault GP 1:40.525 2.874
8 Rubens Barrichello Williams F1 1:40.581 2.930
9 Fernando Alonso Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro 1:40.601 2.950
10 Nico Rosberg Mercedes GP Petronas 1:40.646 2.995
11 Adrian Sutil Force India F1 Team 1:40.734 3.083
12 Daniel Ricciardo Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:40.748 3.097
13 Jaime Alguersuari Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:40.770 3.119
14 Kamui Kobayashi Sauber F1 Team 1:40.872 3.221
15 Jenson Button Vodafone McLaren Mercedes 1:40.927 3.276
16 Jarno Trulli Team Lotus 1:41.620 3.969
17 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull Racing 1:41.627 3.976
18 Sergio Perez Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:41.642 3.991
19 Timo Glock Marussia Virgin Racing 1:42.154 4.503
20 Jerome d’Ambrosio Marussia Virgin Racing 1:42.540 4.889
21 Davide Valsecchi Team Lotus 1:44.054 6.403
22 Vitantonio Liuzzi HRT F1 Team 1:45.228 7.577
23 Narain Karthikeyan HRT F1 Team 1:46.267 8.616
24 Vitaly Petrov Lotus-Renault GP 1:47.932 10.281
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